COLUMBUS, Miss. – Mississippi University for Women students garnered awards at the Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda State Leadership Conference recently held on campus.

More than 150 students and advisers from 15 Mississippi universities and community colleges were in attendance.

Eleven W students competed at this year’s conference, with all 11 of them placing within the top three in the state in at least one of their competitive events.

The winners: Nikita Aangdembe Subba, third place Sales Presentation and 4th Retail Management; Lauren Axthelm, first place Management Concepts and first Project Management; Ashmita Bhandari, third place Entrepreneurship

Concepts; Shristi Dhakal, second place Financial Concepts and fourth Personal Finance; Laura Emilio, first place Retail Management and third Marketing Concepts; Aastha Ghimire, first place Microeconomics and fourth Macroeconomics; Aisha Ghimire, first place Statistical Analysis and third Macroeconomics; Hannah Horton, second place Organizational Behavior and Leadership; Sydney Nelson, second place Business Decision Making and third Management Analysis and Decision Making; Emma Rabalais, first place Organizational Behavior and Leadership; and Rachel Wilkins, first place Marketing Concepts.

Students who placed in the top two in their events qualified to represent Mississippi and compete against state winners from across the U.S. at the National Leadership Conference in Anaheim, Calif., June 24-27.

During the conference, students also enjoyed a keynote address from author and cartoonist Marshall Ramsey and a social event at the Plymouth Bluff Center featuring a fish fry courtesy of the Columbus Convention and Visitors Bureau with live blues music from Stormy Monday.

This is the fourth year in a row that The W has been chosen to host the State Leadership Conference.